Stress, Cycling and Scientists
by TamaraneanOnMars
Summary: Artemis Crock is stressed, and her friends suggested that she goes cycling, once a day. Of course, this has to lead to her annoying, red headed boss annoying her even more than before. Major AU - not even any powers over here, people. Oneshot. Wally/Artemis, heavily hinted Zatanna/Dick and Megan/Connor, faint Wally/Linda and Artemis/Cameron.


**HOLY HELL, 6,009 WORDS? This thing blew up!**

**But, anyway, I worked all yesterday on this, when I really should have been working on the next chapter of 'Welcome To The Team'. Oh, well. I just started writing and... this happened. I kinda made it up as I went along. xD Sorry about how none of this makes sense. I just read through it and I was all, 'The Hell is this? The Hell is that?'.**

**CC is appreciated! ;u;**

**Title: Stress, Cycling and Scientists**

**Characters/Pairings: Wally/Artemis, heavily hinted Zatanna/Dick and Megan/Connor, faint Wally/Linda and Artemis/Cameron**

**Summary: Artemis Crock is stressed, and her friends suggested that she goes cycling, once a day. Of course, this has to lead to her annoying, red headed boss annoying her even more than before. Major AU - not even any powers over here, people.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, or any of it's characters.**

* * *

**Saturday, September 13th 2012 - 12:23 p.m.**

Go cycling, they said.

It'll be fun, they said.

Well, y'know what, Zatanna, Megan? Artemis was not having fun. She did not find extreme exhaustion, aching legs and pouring rain _fun_. Zatanna had been Artemis's friend ever since they had met by chance when they were young, and she had said that doing a couple of hours of cycling daily would help her relax after she had been snapping at everyone, due to stress. Sure, Artemis felt stressed and Zatanna knew exactly what to do (most of the time) when it came to her moods, but that didn't make Artemis happy about it. She didn't know why she had been stressed - Megan said that it was because of the fact that she had a demanding job, and Artemis really should listen to her, since Megan knew her better than even Zatanna (she had known Megan longer), but, as before mentioned, Artemis was crabby. She wasn't in the mood for listening to people.

So why was she cycling through the park, on a Saturday, at midday, when she had stuff to do - oh, and, in the _rain_?

Just as she thought this, a puddle the size of a lake appeared ahead of her and she cursed - loudly - as she drove through it, having no time to swerve. Muddy rain water now coated her legs and half of her stomach and she swore repeatedly as she felt water in her trainers. Just her luck, right? Why did it have to start raining the second she left the house - well, the apartment she shared with Megan? It was like God was having a hissy fit and directing his anger at her.

With a grumble, she turned round and started to make her way back to her apartment, fully aware that her route would take her back through the monstrous puddle. When she did drive through it, she was then soaked head to toe in the rain water and mud mixture. It was not pleasant. She was going to have to have five showers to get this stuff out her hair. She must have looked at that villain, Clayface. She smirked, remembering when she had seen an episode of Batman with Batman and Robin kicking that thing's butt. It had been her favorite show as a kid. Dick liked to joke that he could be Robin if he put his mind to it, and Artemis would only respond with a snort of amusement. That thought lightened her mood a bit as she parked her bike in the bike sheds provided (with four locks, since this was Gotham, and locking it with only one was like holding up a neon sign saying 'STEAL ME').

As soon as she stepped into her apartment, she heard someone laughing hysterically. At her.

"Zatanna, go away! You don't even live here!"

* * *

**Monday, 15th September 2012 - 10:43 a.m.**

Zatanna had the day off work, so, since Dick was working with Bruce that day, decided to go visit Artemis.

She knew that Artemis hated her job, so thought that she should cheer her up. Also, she hadn't seen much of the blonde lately. Ever since she suggested the daily cycling thing, Artemis always got a bit moody around her and asked her why she had to do it. You'd think that they would see each other all the time, since they live in the same apartment building. But she had been busy with work (she had started to earn money from her magic shows and was now doing them officially) and Artemis didn't like coming to her's, since Dick was usually there. She has nothing against Dick, but says that their on-again-off-again relationship annoyed the Hell out of her.

Zatanna strolled into the building, not even having to ask for permission to start making her way to the right office. The workers were so used to her visiting Artemis, even is she hadn't been coming as much lately, that they simply nod and smile when she walks past and she does the same back, like they were old friends that may not speak anymore but still liked to keep in touch. When she found the West office, she saw Artemis sitting at her desk, doing work and talking to Megan, who was sitting in one of the guest chairs.

Artemis's job was that she was an assistant. She answered phones, did paperwork, got up at freaking half five in the morning so that she could come to the office and have enough time to get her work done, while 'Mr. West', as he repeatedly told them to call him, usually with a wink, sat in his office, talking to Connor (one of is best friends) on the phone. That's mainly why Artemis hated this job. Her boss was a lazy, flirtatious idiot. Or, she thought so. To Zatanna and Megan he wasn't too bad. But they guessed that was because they didn't have to spend almost every day in his company.

"Hey, Zatanna." Artemis greeted, sending the girl a quick smile before returning to her work. Zatanna raised an eyebrow as she took a seat next to Megan.

"Busy today?"

"Yup." She responded, popping the 'p'. She looked up from her laptop screen to glare Zatanna. "And I have to give up my much needed lunch break to go on a freaking cycling ride, when I could be getting this stuff done."

M'gann looked between the two, biting her lip, before deciding to jump in. "Artemis, don't blame it all on her. I was the one that suggested you do it at lunch." She said, and Zatanna send her a grateful look. She really wasn't in the mood to be on the receiving end of Artemis's anger that day.

Artemis sighed, softening and sending Zatanna an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Stress."

"S'okay." Zatanna said, returning the smile, as Artemis started typing again. Just then, the door to Mr West's office opened and he stepped out in his lab coat with a shirt, tie and ironed black trousers underneath. He may be annoying, but at least he dressed appropriately for the office. Artemis was in a black tee shirt and trousers with black slip on shoes. No one mentioned it - they knew that if they asked her to change into suitable clothing, she would rip their head off. Everyone had noticed her stress.

He blinked at Artemis. "I didn't notice you come in."

"Good morning to you too, Wally." She snapped back, not looking at him but glaring at her screen.

He grinned at her, poking her in the shoulder. Zatanna shuffled back in her seat, anticipating what would happen next. Obviously Wally hadn't noticed how bad her temper had been lately - or, he had noticed, but he just didn't care. "It's Mr. West to you." He told her with a wink.

She slowly turned her glare to him as it intensified. She spoke through gritted teeth. "Wally. If you don't take your hand away from my arm right now you can say goodbye to the option of having children."

"Aww," He started teasingly, but he did take his hand away. "It's so sweet that you're looking that far into our future."

Artemis seethed and Megan could almost see smoke coming from her ears. Wally just ginned at her before turning to Megan. "Connor says hi, by the way." Megan felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and smiled.

"Tell him I did too." She answered and he nodded, sent the three a smile and left. Megan and Zatanna turned back to Artemis, who was still glaring at where she had last seen him. "Artemis? Calm down, he was only teasing." She said soothingly, and Artemis then continued to glare at her screen and typed like she wanted to destroy the keyboard, muttering things like 'idiot', 'mindless flirting', 'lazy' and 'probably going to make out with Linda in the copy room'.

Zatanna and Megan exchanged glances. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Monday, 15th September 2012 - 1:07 p.m.**

Just before Artemis went cycling Wally left again. She didn't know why. Frankly, she was glad. She didn't want to be in his presence more than she needed to be.

As she started cycling away from her office building, she started slowly, to preserve energy. She had to take a whole different route for days when she had work. She had started this cycling thing a week ago, last Monday. She had days off at the office on the weekends, so she had a full five days with Wally 'Wall-man' West and had two different routes to remember. She glared at nothing as she thought of what he said to her that morning, when Zatanna and Megan were there (they had left soon afterwards - Zatanna to visit Dick at Wayne Enterprises and Megan to go clean the apartment. Her and Artemis had a rule they invented a while ago - Megan cleans and Artemis cooks. It worked well so far, since last time Megan tried to cook, she had tried cookies, and they came out extremely burnt). What had really made her angry was the feeling she got inside when he grinned at her and said the words 'our future'. She had no idea what it was, and it made her angry at Hell. So she started taking it out on other things.

'_Bloody bike. Bloody cycling. Bloody sun._' She thought. Yes, it was sunny, when only two days ago it had been chucking it down with rain. Plus, now it felt like she was burning alive. Combined with the exercise she was doing, she felt hotter than the sun burning her. She cursed as beads of sweat coated her forehead and she legs started burning not half way through the ride. This carried on for a bit, but then she stopped cursing and her eyes widened. She could feel someone watching her. Now, keep in mind that this was Gotham. When someone was watching you in Gotham, it's more than likely that it is a rapist or something like that, even it broad daylight (some criminals were idiots). So, when she turned her head around and got ready to tell the creep exactly how much she wanted to hurt him, she didn't expect it to be Wally West.

He grinned at her and went a bit faster so that he was running beside her. She watched him with wide eyes. "Hey!" He greeted with a small wave.

"What are you doing here?" She blurted, still shocked that her boss was running beside her bike in a tee shirt, joggers and trainers when mere minutes before she left, he was in his crisp, clean work uniform. How did he change so fast?

He smirked. "I always go running at lunch breaks. What did you think I was doing?"

She stopped herself before mentioning Linda and the copy room. She glared at him. "Well, if you're going to run, then leave me alone." She turned her head so that she was looking straight ahead. "I get enough of you at work."

He feigned offense. "Artemis, you wound me."

No answer.

"Oh, you're not talking to me now?"

Silence.

"I could tell you some jokes, cheer you up."

She narrowed her eyes but, once again, said nothing. A devilish grin appeared on his face. He knew just how to get a rise out of her. "So, a blonde was driving one day-"

"Wally, if you dare tell me a blonde joke, I will snap your puny neck."

He grinned triumphantly and she rolled her eyes at him. '_This daily exercise thing could be the perfect opportunity._' He thought as they fell into a comfortable silence, him still running, her still cycling. See, he had known Artemis in high school, and back then he had been the nerd, the outcast. She had been nice to him despite that and they had become friends - he even developed a small crush on her. But they grew apart after high school and when he was told that he was going to get an assistant at his job and that one of the applicants was named Artemis Crock, he had been sure he was giving her the job. He did, but she was different now. The years have hardened her and he was pretty sure she didn't even consider him a friend anymore, but he was determined to get on her good side. Especially since his crush on her was back. I probably should have mentioned that. I should also mention that his crush was even stronger than he remembered.

Artemis suddenly felt uncomfortable in his gaze. He was looking at her way too intensely. It gave her deja vu from high school. It had been the main reason that she realized that he liked her. She liked him back - well, back then she did. But, back then, her Dad was also in the way. Not any more. That didn't mean she was going to fall for him again, of course - Artemis didn't have time for dating. "Wally, stop looking at me." She snapped, sending him a glare before looking away again. She felt herself blushing and hoped that he would blame it on the exercise, because she certainly was.

Wally looked away, face growing red. He should probably just try to make her at least like him before flirting with her again. It was too bad - it had been fun earlier that day. "Sorry." He mumbled. He didn't know why he was scared of her - Hell, he was her boss. Sure, they were both twenty-five, so he didn't have the authority that came with being older, but being her boss gave him authority over her all the time, right?

As they neared the office building, Artemis looking oddly confused for reasons Wally didn't know, he smiled to himself. Right.

* * *

**Saturday, 19th September 2012 - 11:54 a.m.**

"So, Artemis, you going cycling soon?"

Artemis looked up from her laptop, which she should be doing work on, but was really using to do some creative writing and talking to people on facebook. Hell, you can't work all weekend. She raised an eyebrow at Megan. "Uh, yeah, why do you ask?"

Megan grinned at her friend, showing a side that Artemis rarely saw - her devilish side. She should call Connor - tell him what he's getting himself into. "Oh, just wondering what route you're going to take."

Artemis frowned as she went back to her laptop and opened some work - so that she would know to do it once she gets back from the ride. She had loads of work to do. Wally had been extra annoying since they had talked at lunch last Monday and had been distracting her from it. That Monday was only six days ago and he had ran beside her every day since, but it was the first Saturday since that started now, so she would finally be able to have peace and quiet. It seemed that since they started talking more, he thought that they were best friends. She furrowed her brows in confusion. "I'm going to take the route I usually take from home. I still don't see your point."

Megan sat up in her seat and grinned mischievously at Artemis, who was looking more and more confused. "So, you're not going to take your office route so you can see Wally?"

Artemis nearly choked on her own spit. She coughed and spluttered, and as soon as she recovered, she hardened and glared at Megan. "_No_, why would I?"

Megan giggled into her hand and didn't respond, turning on the TV. Artemis narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Megan, what are you implying? Because if it's what I think you are, I will not be merciful."

Megan just giggled again.

Artemis heaved a sigh and stood, closing her laptop so that it went on standby. She walked to the door, to the shoes they kept just to the side of it. She pulled on her trainers and as she did the laces, she started thinking. Megan seemed to think that she had a crush on Wally. Of course she didn't! As stated before, she had no time for dating, no time for idiotic things like boys. She didn't mean any offense to Megan and Zatanna, who were currently dating (only Zatanna's relationship was official, but she knew that Megan and Connor were dating, even if they didn't realize), but Artemis couldn't help but think that there was no point in it. Last time she had a crush was on Cameron, a boy from her college, but then he dropped out to, as he had told her, 'carry on the family business'. To this day, she has no idea what he meant by that and she hasn't seen him since. After that she gave up on guys, though, since you never know when they could just drop out of your life completely.

She said her goodbyes to Megan and went cycling.

* * *

**Friday, 25th September 2012 - 12:34 p.m.**

"Hey, Artemis?"

Artemis nearly banged her head on the desk, upon hearing Wally's voice from the doorway of his office. She had been hoping to get some work done before she went cycling, but that was out the window, now that Wally was talking to her. Not that she minded too much talking to him. He was fun - in a geeky way. She was remembering why she made friends with him in high school. She was only still being hostile with him sometimes because of that damn feeling in her chest that she got around him. With a sigh, she turned to look at him and immediately fought back a blush and focused on glaring at his face.

He was wearing a tight running tee shirt that showed, rather clearly, his muscles.

Oh, look - that damn feeling in her chest was back.

"What is it, Wally?" She asked, and luckily Wally had no idea of how much effort she had to put into just not blushing. "I was about to go. And, by the looks of it, so were you, so please hurry it up."

He smirked at her, crossing his arms. "You know, I am your boss, so you actually don't have the right to speak to me like-"

"Wally."

"Oh, yeah." He said, remembering what he was going to ask her. "I'm about to leave, and... uhm... I was wondering..."

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, fingers tapping her arms in an impatient rhythm. "Spit it out, Wally."

"Uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, suddenly feeling like a prat for even thinking of asking. She would never in a million years say yes. Why would she? He never got any hint that she liked him as more than a friend. Most girls would take every opportunity to leave a hint that they could go for a meal, but Artemis had to be an exception. He laughed nervously and she started to look even more impatient, with a bit of confusion thrown in, so he made up a different question. "I was wondering if you were going soon too! Yeah, that's it."

She raised en eyebrow and snorted. "That is the most idiotic question I have ever heard. I just said I would be leaving soon, idiot." She told him, turning back to her laptop. "I'm just getting some work done."

He paused before nodding. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'll just... go then."

She nodded too and when she looked up to say that she would be there in a minute, he was gone. Her face fell ever so slightly. She had actually started looking forward to spending time with Wally now. She found that she was even starting to find his jokes funny, and now when he make a blonde joke she didn't threaten to destroy one of his essential organs, only rolling her eyes fondly. She even found that she didn't mind the flippy feeling in her stomach as much anymore, but just told herself that she did mind a _lot_, because if she actually liked it then she knew what that would imply - something she doesn't like to think about.

She sighed and got ready for the cycle.

* * *

**Friday, 25th September 2012 - 1:18 p.m.**

Artemis soon found that she felt slightly lonely without Wally's non-stop talking as she rode, frowning at the ground she was riding on. Every now and then, she would glance to the side to check if Wally was there, but was just being very quiet - or looking at her, like he had ten days ago, when they had first done their daily exercise together. She wondered if he liked her again, but doubted it. Over the time she had worked for him, she had been increasingly snappy with him. She swore he had been more annoying than she remembered. She was glad her friends didn't remember him from high school - they never really talked with him anyway. She had hung out with them separately.

She sighed as she turned to drive back to the office. She wondered what he was going to ask her before he changed his mind and asked her when she was going. He had seemed really nervous. She also wondered why she still got that feeling around him. At first, she had called it anger at him being such an annoyance, but she didn't find him annoying. What had mainly annoyed her was his jokes, but she now actually found his jokes funny. She still didn't laugh at them. That was because she was paranoid that if she laughed, he would stop trying. She didn't find his constant talking annoying anymore either - she was just happy that he was talking to her, since before he had broken through her hard outer shell, she had been a jerk.

She thought about how much she had come to enjoy his company, part of her wondering when the stress she had been feeling had turned into happiness. She remembered how she had started to look forward to the daily cycling and had even considered changing her route on weekends so that she could 'accidentally' bump into him, before she realized how stupid that was. And when he talked to her, she would be smiling at him and once she had actually started _counting his freckles_. Her eyes widened and she stopped, balancing her bike and processing the brand new information that had appeared in her mind so suddenly.

_She liked Wally West_.

But she couldn't like Wally! She had got over all this stuff, pushed it all behind her! She had no time for boys, remember? She didn't want to become one of those girls freaking out because a guy hadn't called her five minutes after he dropped her off at her house, or one of those girls that swoon when a guy simply smiles at her. No, that was not Artemis! Artemis was strong, confident, _un-datable_. She thought all guys knew that! So why did Wally have to come and change all that? He was such a jerk, to just waltz - well, run, really - into her life again and act like nothing had changed, like they were best friends again. And then to make her like him again! Why would he do that?

She sighed and walked the rest of the way back to the office, seriously wondering if she had gone insane.

* * *

**Monday, 28th September 2012 - 6:09 a.m.**

Artemis heaved a sigh as she pushed open the double doors to the office building, her other arm occupied by a large pile of papers that wouldn't fit it her fairly large bag. She had a _lot_ of work to do that day. She hadn't done any over the weekend and did barely any Friday afternoon, since she was still recovering from the shock of her sudden... epiphany, I guess you could call it.

Wally hadn't helped. He was acting super awkward around her for the rest of the day. Whenever he talked to her he sounded hesitant, and she could almost tell that there was something he wanted to say, but he wouldn't say it. She didn't peruse it. Also, when he looked at her, he always seemed to look at her a bit too long. Like he was frozen. It was weird.

She frowned as she walked past the desk and stepped into the elevator. She shifted the position of the pile of paper in her arms so that she could press the button to send her to the fourth floor, where Wally's office and her desk was. She send the other man in the elevator a polite nod as she stepped back and the elevator opened on the second floor to let him out. He responded with a nod of his own and left, before Artemis started traveling to the fourth floor. When the doors opened she stepped out just as a woman stepped in. She sent the women yet another mandatory nod and made her way to her desk.

Once again, she nearly choked on her own spit.

There Wally sat, in _her_ seat, at _her_ desk, drumming his fingers on _her_ arm rest. Her was wearing a white tee shirt and jeans, his hair looked like he had tidied it up in two seconds. Wally always wore smart clothing. He _never_ looked messy for work. His expression was thoughtful and nervous and he seemed to be drawing on some blank paper, which she guessed was from the just in case pile of blank paper she kept in one of the drawers. She didn't know that he knew about that. But the thing that shocked her the most was that he was here so _early_. He usually go got to the office at, like, nine. She decided not to ask about that, though.

"What the Hell are you doing at my desk?" She demanded suddenly, dumping the massive pile of paper on the desk in front of him as she did so. He obviously didn't notice her approach, since the thump from the paper and her voice seemed to snap him out of a trace. He let out a noise of surprise and looked at her with a start.

He blinked, like he had forgotten who he was. After a moment of Artemis glaring at him, his face broke out into a grin. "I was waiting for you. You wanna get a coffee?"

Artemis fought back a blush and stood up straight, looking at him like he had asked her to grow a new head - a.k.a. like he had ask her something Wally would never, in a million years, ask her to do, which he had. "You... were waiting for me? And _what_?"

Wally grin faltered slightly, but he persisted. He got here way too early and he was damn well going to get something out of it. "Yes, I was waiting for you. And do you want to get a coffee?" He repeated and he watched her expression go through different stages; shock, confusion, happiness (this didn't last long but it made his insides do flips) and, finally, disbelief.

"W-With you?" She asked, and Wally frowned.

"Yeah, well, duh."

"B-But..." She hated how much she was stuttering. She must sound like an idiot. She gestured to the paper on her desk. "I have... uh... I have work."

He beamed at her again, standing. "I'm giving you the morning off! I'm guessing you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I know a place that does the best pancakes!" He told her, grabbing her wrist and starting to pull her towards the door.

"But, Wally!" She exclaimed, but Wally continued to pull her. She tried to break her hand from his grasp, but he was surprisingly strong. "Can you even do that? Just... give me the morning off?"

He sent her a grin as he pulled her into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. The doors slid closed and they started going down. "Mm-hm!"

She shook her head, but a smile was on her face. "You didn't even hear me say yes."

His grin grew wider and he slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm your boss - you have to do what I tell you to do."

"Damn, I forgot that you were my boss." She said, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms, secretly ecstatic that she was kind of going on a date with him. Kind of.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know if I should take that as a bad thing or a good thing."

She laughed as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the first floor and Wally grinned widely again as they started to leave the building. He realized it was the first time he had heard her laugh in years. It was like music to his ears. He glanced back at the receptionist, who was watching them with an extremely puzzled expression. Was she really seeing _Wally West_, one of the company's best scientists, leaving the building in _tee shirt and jeans_, with _Artemis Crock_? Was she going _mad_? He grinned at her and called back;

"We'll be back later, Raquel - we're taking the morning off!"

* * *

**Monday, 28th September 2012 - 10:47 a.m.**

"You blew off _Linda Parks_?" Artemis asked in disbelief, but Wally only just understood her, because she was laughing hysterically as she said it. And to think, all this time she had thought he had secret meetings at her at their lunch break. Linda was a nice girl. She had dated Wally for almost a year, before Artemis became Wally's assistant and he broke up with her. And apparently, he had done this by saying that he was going to meet her at a cafe and when she got there, all there was on the table they had booked was a hand written message from him saying that he wanted to break up. Sure, he had to explain it to her the next day, but Artemis still found the note thing hilarious. She had asked Linda why he had broken up with her once, because she was the only one (other than Wally, of course) who knew. Apparently, he had liked someone else.

"Uh-huh." He said, grinning as she laughed. He loved her laugh - it really did sound like bells. "You should have seen her face the next day, though. She couldn't tell whether to laugh or slap me - it was hilarious!" He laughed and Artemis tried not to look too curious as she asked her next question.

"So, why _did_ you break up with her?"

Wally's laughter died down immediately and he was suddenly extremely nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "Well.. I kinda... liked someone else?"

"Really?" Artemis asked, trying to sound surprised. "Who?"

He grinned sheepishly and seemed to shrink in his seat. "Uh... You?"

She blinked, sitting up straight. Before long, she felt a smile tugging at the ends of her lips. He had actually liked her. She shoved a sock into the metaphorical mouth of the voice of doubt in her head, telling her that he was lying to make her feel better, and listened to the one that dancing a celebratory dance and singing her favorite Maroon 5 song. "You broke up with her because you liked... me?" He nodded, looking at the table, blushing slightly. After she processed this, her shoulder's sagged, catching his attention. "But, why did you like me? I was horrid to you."

His reaction hadn't been what she would expect - he was suddenly angry. "Hey, don't speak about yourself like that! It's not your fault that you're how you are! You hadn't seen me for years, of course we weren't best friends anymore! We just needed to become friends again and I was sure that you would be just like before. And I was right, you are!" He said, grinning at the end as his anger fizzled out and gesturing towards her. She sent him a shy smile.

"So, who do you like now?" She asked, genuinely curious. She was pretty sure that she sounded like a typical school girl when she said it, but didn't care.

He furrowed his brows in confusion and frowned. "What?"

She frowned too and leaned back. "Well, you said that you _had_ a crush on me - note the past tense. So I'm guessing that there's someone else now, right?"

He looked even more confused. "Artemis, you do know what this is?"

"What what is?" She responded. Now it was her turn to look puzzled.

"_This_." He said, gesturing to the cafe they were in. "Having breakfast together."

She crossed her arms and shrugged nervously. "Uh, hanging out?" She kept the shakiness from her voice.

He let out an exasperated sigh and sent her a look that clearly told her that she had said the wrong thing. "Are you playing dumb or do you actually not get what I meant when I asked you to go for coffee?"

She thought for a moment. What was he implying? It sounded like he was saying she was dumb. She didn't like being called dumb. Her expression turned to one of annoyance and she uncrossed her arms. She shrugged. Wally sighed again and muttered something under his breath that Artemis couldn't understand. He sat, thinking, for a second, before he was struck with an idea.

Wally cupped her head in his hands and kissed her.

* * *

**Monday, 28th September 2012 - 5:57 p.m.**

"Shoot..." Megan muttered as she rushed into the kitchen, seeing the smoke drifting from the oven. Her eyes widened and she quickly grabbed the cooking book from the counter, flicking through it until she found the page containing the pie recipe she had used. She scanned it, tracing the sentences with her finger, before she froze. She left the pie in the oven _way_ too long.

"Shootshootshootshootshoot!" She panicked, quickly grabbing some oven mitts from the drawer and pulling open the oven. The amount of smoke increased and she coughed and spluttered as she pulled out the thoroughly burnt pie. It was completely black, and when she examined the filling, she recoiled. She coughed again at all the smoke and closed the oven with a disappointed sigh. She didn't know why she tried cooking. Everyone that knew her knew that she couldn't cook to save her life. Even Artemis had warned her about it multiple times.

Megan froze as she heard the door opening and Artemis stepping into the apartment. She hurriedly stepped in front of the pie and tried wafting the smoke away. Artemis stepped in with her work stuff, which was strange, but Megan was too worried about her seeing the pie to comment. "H-hey, Artemis, how was-"

"Wally kissed me!" She blurted, not even seeming to notice all the smoke or Megan's pink 'Compliments to the chef!' apron. Megan's eyes widened and she blinked as Artemis hurried out of the room. A moment later she heard the blonde's bedroom door slamming. Megan just stood there for a moment, processing what Artemis had just told her.

Then she burst out laughing.


End file.
